George Takei was on HBO’s Real Time With Bill Maher on Friday night and his feud with Star Trek co-star William Shatner came up with Takei taking a few shots at Bill. He also talked about his attempt to get Gene Roddenberry to tackle LGBT issues. Watch the segment below.

During Friday night’s Real Time with Bill Maher George Takei talked about how the original Star Trek took on on social issues and how Takei did pitch Gene Roddenberry to take on gay issues metaphorically. Takei explained how Roddenberry responded….

Well [Gene Roddenberry] said “we do use metaphor to deal with contemporary issues" but he was he was treading a really tight rope because he was dealing with issues. Television is not known for dealing with contemporary issues and he said that if he pushed the envelope too far, then he wouldn’t be able to deal with any issue at all.

Takei also noted that he was open with his sexuality with the original Star Trek cast, saying…

As a matter of fact my [Star Trek] colleagues did know, but they were cool about it because they know if they made a public statement about it my career would be destroyed. …except for one member of the cast, it went right over his head*….At the end of the week we had our wrap parties and they bring their wives or husbands or boyfriends or girlfriends and I quite regularly brought a buddy.

After some back and forth Takei seemed to confirm it was Shatner who never figured out he was gay. Through the segment Takei took a few swipes at Shatner,including cracks about Bill’s hairline, self-absorption, and more. Maher actually said that the feud "breaks my heart" because he is such a fan of Star Trek.

It’s kind of sad that Takei still holds such a grudge against Shatner.

Is he just going to hate and resent the guy until one of them dies?

If Takei is going to make snide comments about Shatner all the time, he should clearly state his grievances. This sort of unspecified resentment of Shatner coming from Takei all the time just comes across as grudge-holding intransigence.

Takei was invited to Shatner’s Roast…Shatner had Walter Koenig on Shatner’s Raw Nerve to try to make amends…he specifically asked Koenig to express his grievances…Shatner reached out to Nichelle Nichols as well…I’m not saying that Shatner has done “enough” or that Shatner doesn’t have personality flaws…and whatever Shatner’s reason for snubbing James Doohan when he was close to death, I can’t imaging it being anything but unacceptable—Shater’s a flawed man, no argument about that.

But Shatner at least seems to be aware that he’s flawed and tries to make amends. I don’t get the impression from Takei that he’s at all interested in trying to understand or resolve his differences with Shatner. Either talk about whatever is bothering you and try to resolve your differences, or agree to disagree. This constant cattiness is unbecoming and uninspiring.

#5 Star Trek was not JUST Kirk but to say that Sulus character was just as important or vital is clearly off the mark. Star Trek without Sulu (or anyone other than the big 3) wouldve gone on successfully. Remove Kirk or Spock from the equation and the show wouldve ended. Im a big fan of the supporting cast but they werent in the opening credits. Trek was built around Shatner as Kirk, then Spock and eventually McCoy was given star billing but it was always intended to be Shatner’s show.

@6. Mel,
“I think Takei continues with this one sided feud for the media attention it brings him. Pathetic.”

As opposed to Shatner’s endless and humiliating attention grabbing stunts? Pathetic indeed. It’s what old, has been actors with massive egos do to keep the fuzzy fringes of the spotlight illuminating their furiously tap-dancing feet.

There are no innocent parties here, just two sides of the same coin.

Nimoy is a class act in contrast, as were Kelley, and Doohan; and Nichols, and Koenig still are. Aside from Shatner and Takei, the rest live their lives off the radar. But I’ll tell you this, at least Takei uses his infamous celebrity to further a worthy cause, I’m not sure what Shatner does except feed his ego.

Just off the top of my head, #9, The Hollywood Charity Horse Show.
Donating a kidney stone’s auction proceeds to a charity.
But don’t let Bill’s charitable work get in the way of your dislike of him.
Takei is a bitter old man. Its sad, but that’s up to him I guess.

I think Takei is the best actor of the three minor Bridge characters, and it IS a shame that he wasn’t given more of a chance to show us what he can do. That said, Shatner’s energy and charisma were essential to the show, and while Star Trek would have succeeded just fine with another face in the helmsman’s place, it might not have succeeded with another captain.

I think one of the things that the bit-part actors overlook is how incredibly BUSY the main-character actors were, and Shatner most of all. Shatner was in nearly every scene, and he had huge quantities of dialogue to memorize every single day. It’s easy to memorize your lines when you have two “Aye, Sirs” and one “This is the first time I’ve heard a malfunction threaten us;” it’s a lot harder when you have pages and pages and PAGES of dialogue.

Given how quickly they were forced to film the show, how many lines Shatner had, and how much energy he was putting out in nearly every scene, I’m not surprised that he didn’t have the time or energy left for taking much notice of the bit-part actors. Given how much he had to do and how high-energy his role was, I’m amazed the man didn’t fall over!

I think it’s true that at this point Takei’s “feud” with Shatner is mostly for show, to stay in the limelight. But I think underneath that he really IS bitter and holds on to his resentment, which is sad.

Shatner has publicly acknowledged his failings and tried to make amends to his old castmates. While some will laugh at and mock him for taking just about any gig that will get him in front of a camera, (he IS an actor after all), I think Shatner has proven he’s the better man.

Why can’t these two simply bury the damn hatchet already? I mean enough is enough! The show promoted peace and tried to find solutions for simple everyday issues, and yet Bill and George are still feuding over….well I don’t even know what. I think it’s time to finally let it go. It’s not like they’re going to live forever. Old age will eventually catch up to them and then they wont have the chance to settle their differences. Better to do it now than to not have the chance to do it later.

Takei’s shots at Shatner just become more pathetic year after year. He really comes across as bitter. And yeah, Shatner can come across as arrogant, but he does have a point when it comes to Takei’s limited involvement with TOS. Did Takei have more than 30 real lines of dialogue in the entire 3-year run of the original show?

Anybody can donate money to a charity, and lend their celebrity to upscale, elitist fundraisers. Takei is fighting for civil rights issues, and has taken personal and professional risks throughout his life to do so.

Takei’s continued sniping and cheap shots at Shatner only make him look small and petty. If, heaven forbid, Star Trek had gone the way of most shows from the 60s, we wouldn’t even know Takei exists today. I agree with 3,4,6,7,8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, especially 17, 18 and 20. Surprise, Shatner may not be perfect. I’m not either, nor is anyone else on this planet. Takei certainly has his flaws. He never misses a chance to bash Shatner in the media. As 6 and 8 have said, it’s all about the media attention he gets from it, because every time he shows up on a show the Shatner bashing begins. Shatner has managed to stay relevant in entertainment, when many of his 60s contemporaries have faded into obscurity. Back then, he was a working actor, the lead in a series before ensemble casts were the trend, always looking to the next role or opportunity, as he continues to do today. It seems to me he’s tried to give back to the fans and less fortunate along the way. It seems Shatner has tried to bury the hatchet, but Takei can’t let go of it, because it’s all he’s got left. Face it George, you were riding Shatner’s coattails in the 60s, and you’ve been riding them ever since. Funny, how we never heard about all of this hatred and vitrol when the cast was making movies and cashing big paychecks. It’s time to give the man a rest.

bored now ,the only thing he seem to talk about is how much he hates shatner and being gay now i respect the later but do you need to say it even time its turning into will and grace,your gay and happy married good i am so pleased for you that you have that person in your life,quinto just came out said it and then went on with his life,as for shatner so bored,i have to say its getting to the stage where i cant be bother with taki any more and i don’t want to do that please give it up live and let live now i do not expect you to become bbf or even like one another just stop dragging everyone else into this thing please

I think both of them have milked their “feud” to a degree.
I’m sure Bill will take any attention he can get and George is a far bigger star now than he ever was.
To me, this feud is kind of like the kind you would see on old school wrestling. They talk a lot, but down deep they appreciate each other and there is some friendship. George wouldn’t have been on Bill’s Roast and work together on other projects if they truly hated each other.

Agreed. I love George! The weeks he is on Howard are some of the greatest. Both he (mostly due to Howard) and Shatner have had an incredible late career renaissance. I wish he would just appreciate that Trek has ultimately been a great gift for both of them and do away with the silly animosity at this point in their limited lives. Sometimes I think this Shatner animosity is just his “shtick”. He had a resurgence of recognition and popularity when he started bashing the Shat.

Totally adore George. However, he only appeared in 2/3rds of the TOS episodes and the last time he worked with Shatner was a quarter of a century ago. Although the media kinda keeps this dispute stoked by asking both of these actors to comment on it over and over, I gotta sense that this “feud” is a one-sided affair. Just as it was back in the 60’s, when they’d both appeared on that iconic NBC-series, Shatner remains a busy man. He’s likely always been intensely focused on his own career and now he’s also engaged in benefiting worthwhile charities.

Every minute George talks about Bill, he’s only wasting time when, instead, he could be charming us with his great humor or inspiring us with his advocacy of human-rights

I know the old saying that No press is bad press, but I can’t see any benefit in the Takei/Shatner feud for either of them. It just reminds people of Shatner’s flaws and makes Takei look petty, overly prideful and resentful of that fact that he played a lesser character and was third or fourth fiddle to Shatner on Star Trek.

George Takei, as Bill Maher points out, has come to enjoy a great “second act” in his career. Takei is famous today on his own merits, for his Gay Rights advocacy and so forth. I just don’t see what benefit there could possibly be in his sniping at Shatner all the time. For a guy preaching the gospel of tolerance and understanding, his persistent resentment of Shatner can’t be helping his image or his cause.

And as for Shatner needing the press, to quote Takei from STVI, Are you kidding?

Bill Shatner has had so many things going on for decades now that that a petty feud with a former cast-member pales in terms of media attention.
Shatner has had how many TV shows (both producing and starring in)? How many books? How many charity events? How many Trek conventions? How many late night talk show appearances? How many awards show appearances? Those damned Priceline commercials on all the time….And I’m sure I’m leaving out plenty of his recent activities.

Bill Shatner, for all of his human flaws, is an entertainment dynamo. There’s just no disputing that. He does not need some chronic petty bitchery with George Takei in order to get attention.

As for Takei being hooked on the attention from his feud with Shatner, that seems more likely. If you’re George Takei and you’ve always resented Shatner being more famous and getting the better roles in Trek, getting attention from sniping at him in public would make sense, if attention is what you’re most after. And Takei does seem to enjoy the attention.

@31. P’trick,
“Every minute George talks about Bill, he’s only wasting time when, instead, he could be charming us with his great humor or inspiring us with his advocacy of human-rights”

And every minute Shatner plays the buffoon, tarnishing the image of Captain Kirk and Star Trek, in his egotistic grab for fame and the spotlight, he could be hosting another charity drive, or donating another gal stone.

Apparently, there is unresolved history between Shatner and most of the cast. Sometimes people do things that don’t allow you to resolve it. Perhaps, we as fans should move on not expect these two to kiss and make up.

#33 – That is nonsense. William Shatner is not Captain Kirk. Captain Kirk is a fictional character, but William Shatner is a real person living now who has made much of his living by acting as various characters, one of whom was a futuristic fictional character who goes by the name of James Kirk.

He has every right to be a buffoon, sing badly (I have heard worse), do priceline commercials, host charity shows, talk on radio, ride horses and do whatever he wants.

As far as I know, William Shatner has not made a habit of verbally bashing anyone in public, however the same cannot be said of George Takei. That alone makes William Shatner the better man, irrespective of what fame or spotlight he might grab, while NOT consistently making fun of and deriding another.

Do you even know what a gall stone is? Besides, it was a kidney stone that he donated to charity. Gall stones and kidney stones mean pain, a lot of pain…:(

A woman who had given birth (one that was normal, straightforward) and had also the experience of passing a kidney stone reported that the pain was pretty much the same…she thought that passing the stone could have been slightly worse, but not by much.

5. They’re actors on a show. Shatner was the star and nobody has ever said that he wasn’t professional, courteous or friendly to everyone on set. The griping was over later stories that he’d been asking, behind the scenes, for more lines for Kirk. It was just work to these folks back then. And actors are always worried about being able to get the next job. And they’re all self-centered, pretty much by definition. Takei included.

I like Takei, but he needs to realize that he’s got more going for him than just his snide comments about Shatner (and Shatner’s no better in this) and being gay (I say this as a gay man).

Takei is not fighting for “civil rights” when he has spent decades focusing one thing above all else: his hate of William Shatner. That is what Takei is best known for–not anything else, and it is more than a cheap, stunt for attention. He thinks he is “protected” in modern media, so he can get away with something –if worn out by anyone else–would inspire a collective “get over it”, but he continues, year after year, beating that same, dead horse.

Perhaps if he spent the same amount of years working on his acting career instead of being a bitter, ex-day player, or begging for snowball’s – chance – in -hell Captain Sulu movies, he would have a higher standing as a performer. But that was/is too much to ask.

He will go to his grave defning himself by what he failed to do, and how another used his own ability to succeed on and beyond that one job.

I think you’re missing the point, Star Trek was about embracing the differences not whining about them, why don’t you lot start usingthe shows message and applying it, it’s so hypocritical of some of you to bicker so much. Embrace your differences and move on.
For example, this site doesn’t print 20% of my posts, maybe because they are not as argumentative and inflammatory, so maybe Trek Movie Dot Com uses Takei’s same media angle, people love to see a fight.
(I won’t be checking to see if this gets posted, am sure only editorial staff will read this). Dictatorships are everywhere.
Live Long and Prosper

Takei’s continued barbs against Shatner just show how pathetic he has become and how, for all his lip service, he really doesn’t get the message of Trek at all.

All the other actors who had grievances with Shatner aired them (often face to face with Shatner himself) and then took the high road and moved on. Only Takei, in a sad, desperate attempt to remain in the public eye, continues to beat that long dead horse.

With each new attack, all he does is turn more and more people off to him and his supposed causes. He really needs to put all these perceived injustices behind him and accept the fact that when it comes to Trek, he was just a minor supporting actor. Either that or just go away.

#51 – I have not seen your name before, as far as I can recall. There is no reason why Trekmovie would not print your posts here. Unless you are using words that the strange filters on this site do not allow for, the posts will appear here, even if later they disappear only to appear again later (usually).

Swear words are not allowed, but there are words like p*rn, ins*ra*ce, a perfectly legitimate variation on the spelling on a person coming from the Phillippines (who knew?), which if they appear in a post, will get that post instantly deleted. It will not appear on this site anywhere.

I am sure there are other perfectly legitimate words that are obviously non-offensive that people may discover will get this posts deleted.

You need to do a test of a word that you have not seen written here, or written in an odd sort of way, as in my examples above. This is what I did because my posts at one time did not show up and that is how I found that a word to do with the Phillippines was the reason my posts kept getting dumped.

@52. TonyD,
“With each new attack, all he does is turn more and more people off to him and his supposed causes.”

Funny how only Star Trek fans seem to whine and complain about this feud. Outside Takei seems beloved by all, and seems to be getting more popular all the time. Only here is there a caustic rhetoric about how pathetic Takei’s “rants” are.

Few are fond of his embarrassing attacks on Shatner. It is clear he is a bitter day player thinking (in no surprise) that he was entitled to something not designed for him: star status or a role of importance. He only advocates for himself, and instead of actually building a career of note, he spent decades whining, attacking and making himself a sideshow.

Yet isn’t it funny this very article has come about because Bill Maher thought it would be fun to have an entitled, bitter, self-centered day-player, as the featured guest on his well respected and long running show?

@ #35 Garth So, what qualifies your to be the “expert” on the subject? Many have expressed that they are tired of Takei maintaining this silly feud. I don’t see much in the way of “trashing” Takei. You’re either Takei himself posting under another name or you are just another person who has as much information as the rest of us.

A) Maher is brutal. He’s quite literally the least funny comedian on television and his politics are pretty bad too.

B) Takei’s 15 minutes of fame are long over and every cheque he’s received since 1968, he should be sending 10% to William Shatner so he should remember that.

C) The ‘feud’ is hilarious because I legitimately believe Shatner has zero issue with Takei and is only ever being funny when he does his part but Takei seems truly bothered by it. Clearly a significant level of jealously. In fact, that was always the case. Its quite interesting that the two cast members who had no problem with William Shatner were the other two top-billed actors. Nimoy and Kelley had no jealously nor any reason to be jealous and thus, they dont have the blind hate for THE STAR OF THE SHOW.

Takei should ask himself, if Shatner had never been cast, if they had gone into production with Pike as Captain, where would his (Takai’s) career be right now? Because quite likely, he wouldnt be on television talking about Star Trek or LBGT issues in 2014.

Kudos for Takei for having the courage of his convictions and refusing to work with Shatner all those years…oh wait. Well at least he was honest about his hatred during the TOS movie years even though he risked Shatner having him cut…oh wait.

Why do so many fans want to treat Shatner as “evil?” Everyone has strengths and weaknesses and we all make mistakes! Just because Takei fights for a cause doesn’t make him a saint above reproach.

It is to Shatner’s credit that he doesn’t try to run Takei down all the time for his faults. I have seldom heard Shatner say anything about his feud with Takei, much less put him down, but every time Takei opens his mouth, he is putting Shatner down. If Takei doesn’t want to reconcile, that’s fine, but he should leave his feud with Shatner out of his comments – does he not have anything else to talk about?

Come on, if Takei didnt have a “feud” with William Shatner, he’d have nothing. Do you think if he told Maher’s producer that he didnt want to talk about Shatner that they would have had him on? Not a chance. Takie has used his so-called feud with Shatner to keep himself relevent. Im sure even George realises thats all it is but its all he’s got.

I used to think it was just a put on between them and I think that way about Shatner, but Takei is a piece of work. Talentless really. Its one thing to be a crusader for a good cause but it’s quite another to use that cause for monetary gain.

As others have said, the feud between George (and Nichelle and Jimmy Doohan) and Shatner used to be a real thing…but it’s simmered down over the years, mainly because Shatner has mellowed a bit and isn’t the egotist he used to be in the 70s and 80s. Now it’s just fun ribbing at each other, which I believe both sides are cool with.

Takei is ‘bitter’, etc. C’mon, homeboy, who are you trying to fool? You obviously have never seen or met George in person. He’s the most joyous guy around! And try checking out his uber-popular Facebook page and come back and tell us he’s “bitter”.

BTW, Cushman’s Season 2 TOS book delves into the Shatner ‘problem’. Takei was far from the most critical. Doohan was the most upset with shatner’s behavior. But so were other TOS regulars, including many guest stars. About a page and a half of critical quotes. On the other hand, many guest stars are quoted as saying that he was humorous, supportive and a delight to work with. Differing perspectives.

“Yet isn’t it funny this very article has come about because Bill Maher thought it would be fun to have an entitled, bitter, self-centered day-player, as the featured guest on his well respected and long running show?”

Maher is in the business of offending–stirring the [expletive] storm, so having Takei on, doing his usual, shameful act is expected.

Takei is not fun. He is a sideshow. His every word can be easily translated into:

“While Shatner worked on his post TOS career to create other memorable characters / performances and elevate his status as a performer, I took a few fan opinions and turned that into me being crucial to the success of Star Trek. Only Shatner is to blame for my personal and professional failures.”

C) The ‘feud’ is hilarious because I legitimately believe Shatner has zero issue with Takei and is only ever being funny when he does his part but Takei seems truly bothered by it. Clearly a significant level of jealously. In fact, that was always the case. Its quite interesting that the two cast members who had no problem with William Shatner were the other two top-billed actors. Nimoy and Kelley had no jealously nor any reason to be jealous and thus, they dont have the blind hate for THE STAR OF THE SHOW.

Takei should ask himself, if Shatner had never been cast, if they had gone into production with Pike as Captain, where would his (Takai’s) career be right now? Because quite likely, he wouldnt be on television talking about Star Trek or LBGT issues in 2014.

This is exactly right.

Whenever people ask Shatner about the feud with Takei, Shatner’s response is always the same: “I don’t know why he hates me so much. I’ve tried to find out and work things out with him but he just won’t forgive me for whatever I’ve done.”

“Takei should ask himself, if Shatner had never been cast, if they had gone into production with Pike as Captain, where would his (Takai’s) career be right now? Because quite likely, he wouldnt be on television talking about Star Trek or LBGT issues in 2014.”

Great observation. A Hunter-led Star Trek probably sees cancellation somewhere in mid season one, and considering how few episodes Takei had in say, the first 13 episodes, he would be less than the footnote than he is now. However, he is eternally bitter and delusional about his value to the ST phenomenon–which did not explode due to an interest in Takei, his performance as Sulu, or his personal life.

78 – your point is irrelevent. Shatner isn’t out there attacking anyone. And if Shatner had never been cast in Star Trek, Takei STILL wouldnt be interviewed in 2014 about anything.

The reason Takei cant let the “feud” go is because he would never get interviewed about anything ever again.

Just you wait, if Shatner dies before Takei, the most interviewed person will be Takei and he will have nothing but wonderful things to say as he cashes the last few cheques Shatner was gracious enough to provide for him.

Your contention that without Shatner, Takei would NEVER be sought out for interview as a survivor of the WWII Interment Camps, his work on HAWAIIAN EYE, his work on TWILIGHT ZONE series, his work on I SPY, or his work on THE GREEN BERETS film is just as irrelevant and silly as most sweeping generalities are. I’ve seen uncredited extras from STAR TREK with far less impressive resumes than those few things make make a reasonable go at the convention circuits even to this day.

Perhaps the problem is you assume that STAR TREK was the only cult phenomenon on the planet? While it was highly successful as a cult phenomenon, it wasn’t and isn’t the only gig in town.

Just you wait, if Shatner dies before Takei, the most interviewed person will be Takei and he will have nothing but wonderful things to say as he cashes the last few cheques Shatner was gracious enough to provide for him.

Disinvited – nope, i disagree. You think Takei would be persued for interviews without Star Trek? Not a chance. Unless he lucked into some other claim to fame as a result of not being involved in Trek but I highly doubt it.

Takei owes his 15 minutes of fame to Star Trek and for that he owes William Shatner a great deal of gratitude. The fact Shatner continues to treat the “feud” with bemusement also allows Takei these opportunities to keep it going.

William Shatner was the star of Star Trek. Takei was a bit player. if Shatner was the jerk Takei claims, he’s very fortunate Shatner didnt have him cut from the films as he surely had the power to do.

I actually don’t believe any of these stories. Takei was never some sort of gay activist until he came out, and he didn’t come out until quite a few others came out and it started to become socially acceptable.

The more tolerant people became of gays, the more Takei became an activist. I’m not knocking the man, but it’s not like he was some sort of brave pioneer. He does a lot of good things today, and he is funny, but I just don’t buy that he had a frank discussion about doing some sort of gay themed Star Trek story with Gene Roddenberry.

I also don’t believe the Shatner story either. Takei just likes to slam Shatner publicly. It’s a shame, because as others have pointed out, without Shatner’s talent, no one knows who George Takei is. Yes, there were other shows, and other hits, but it’s not like Takei was ever “the next big thing,” and not many of them were giving Asian actors a fair shake in that era.

If Shatner didn’t notice Takei had a boyfriend at a wrap-party, it might be that he simply let other people do what they do and be who they are, when not acting on his series. Some people don’t sit there at a party and try to figure out other people’s personal business. Yes, Shatner might have been thinking his own thoughts, is that egotistical or focused? Maybe a bit of both.

And when they were acting in Trek during the weekdays, that series existed because of Shatner and Nimoy, Kelley to a slightly less degree. I love the others but they had no reputation, no status, and we never would of heard of them, in all likelihood.

In William Shatner’s book, Star Trek, he wrote that he had little time for socializing because he wanted to take care of, be there for his three little girls whenever he could. He wrote of how he missed not being able to read his children bedtime stories and tug them in at nights. There were times where he did not actually see the girls for days at a time, because he was gone for work before they awoke and came home after they had gone to sleep, due to the gruelling schedules required of lead actors at that time.

This strain was partially responsible for the breakdown of his marriage and he wrote of how devastated he was, because of this…

“Your contention that without Shatner, Takei would NEVER be sought out for interview as a survivor of the WWII Interment Camps, his work on HAWAIIAN EYE, his work on TWILIGHT ZONE series, his work on I SPY, or his work on THE GREEN BERETS film is just as irrelevant and silly as most sweeping generalities are.”

I think you are stretching things to the point of snapping; all Twilight Zone guest stars are not seen equally, and to be frank, his appearance is not the first anyone thinks of when recalling memorable TZ performances. The same can be said of his less than minor guest spot on I Spy or the near-universally forgotten Hawaiian Eye. Over the decades, even genuinely remembered TZ guest stars did not always warrant interviews, so somehow Takei would?

He’s a minor player who had the overwhelming fortune to be on a show where the lead was so enthralling that it did not end up like projections of ST if Hunter was signed.

@ 80. Disinvited – July 22, 2014:

” Perhaps the problem is you assume that STAR TREK was the only cult phenomenon on the planet? While it was highly successful as a cult phenomenon, it wasn’t and isn’t the only gig in town.”

No matter the series, Takei cannot be said to be a memorable part of any. One shot players such as the late Stanley Adams left a significantly greater footprint on TZ and ST than Takei–and Takei was a semi-regular on the latter.

Just saw Takei on The Daily Show last night. Not one mention of Shatner. the guy is a class act.

Finally saw he Bill Maher episode on HBO. Again, class act, no “slamming” of Shatner, some good-natured ribbing (and very little at that), prompted by Maher and the audience loved it.

In both cases they talked mostly about the injustice done to Japanese Americans in our nations concentration camps during WWII, and to a lesser degree attitudes toward homosexuals.

So much bitterness from the fans here. So caustic and hostile. The level of viciousness toward Takei here is far worse than anything I’ve ever publicly seen him dish out on Shatner. This article is quite revealing, though not so much about Takei as those who contribute their opinions.

@90: Revisionist history. I’ve seen Takei over the decades, and he has been nothing short of hostile toward Shatner. It seems you are desperate to erase–or conveniently forget his history in order to protect him. That comes off like an agenda.

Not even a few seconds on PIONEERS OF TELEVISION as one of the early Asian minority actors actually getting cast for various TV gigs in the racism is just a given whitewashed 50s? Not even for the controversy his episode of TZ sparked? Your attempts to minimize his every success in that caustic environment comes off like an agenda.

One thing I clearly recall before Trek is I recognized his voice in TZ as one that was doing uncredited English dubbing of some of my favorite Japanese movies and cartoons.

Now, your contention that he wouldn’t be as famous as Trek afforded him, I’m willing to consider, but your contention that he wouldn’t have had any kind of minor fame as B list celebrity just doesn’t jibe with my experience. I translocated to SoCal in the beginning of the decade of the 70s and I clearly recall in the dip when all the actors warily regarded it as possibly being more of a liability than any benefit to their careers before Trek took off to syndicated fame Takei was active in the LA political scene. I don’t recall him being particularly active as regards to gay rights but he was most definitely active in civil rights before Trek/Shatner gave him any notoriety/fame to cash in on.

“Not even a few seconds on PIONEERS OF TELEVISION as one of the early Asian minority actors actually getting cast for various TV gigs in the racism is just a given whitewashed 50s?”

There were other asian actors with a higher profile in 50s TV than Takei. His even being cited in POT only points back to his pure luck in being associated with a series that became famous in no small part due to the work of the man he hates.

Once again, he owes Shatner for the bread on his table.

@92. Disinvited – July 24, 2014:

” Not even for the controversy his episode of TZ sparked? Your attempts to minimize his every success in that caustic environment comes off like an agenda.”

As a minority on television, he is eclipsed by too many to reference in this thread. Compare him Bill Cosby on I Spy (who won Emmys for his role, by the way), or Greg Morris on Mission: Impossible. I could go on, but the point is clear. At a time when the country was being torn apart by racial conflict / African Americans being the target of many on the street level to those in government, for African American actors to be cast as positive, intelligent heroes had the effect of an earthquake.

@92. Disinvited – July 24, 2014:

“Now, your contention that he wouldn’t be as famous as Trek afforded him, I’m willing to consider, but your contention that he wouldn’t have had any kind of minor fame as B list celebrity just doesn’t jibe with my experience.”

His record is the evidence; in the early, post TOS years, he tried his hand in politics (I was in Los Angeles at the time, and remember his activities), but as a performer, he fell by the wayside, so where was the fame coming from?

–living off of Star Trek, as he wasted no time voicing his character on TAS (premiered in 1973), or jumping on the convention circuit of the 1970s–and he was not all about the “Star Trek family” and nothing else. His Shatner hate blossomed in that decade.

If he did not live off of the fumes of TOS–the series Shatner was crucial in making a phenomenon, Takei would not be as remembered as Stafford “Chief O’Hara” Repp from the 1966 Batman TV series–the latter not even being in the top four or five cast members from that show.

Curious Cadet was right on the mark. Why the hatred directed soley at Takei when he isn’t saying anything that other TOS regulars haven’t said and written about Shatneron numerous occasions? Could it be that deep-down these haters abhor his gayness? Of course, they’ll deny it (perhaps even to themselves), but the suspicion lingers…

#94 – There is no hatred specifically directed at George Takei. Yes, many of the original TOS cast have said that they found William Shatner to be overbearing, pompous, egotistical etc. but they have managed to let it go. They said what they wanted to say, as in how they felt about some of his behaviour during the making of the TOS television and films and have moved on. George Takei has not. He needs to – as much for his own sake as for anyone else’s.

This has nothing with Takei being gay and this is a red herring, an odious distraction that you bring to this discussion. How do you know what people may deny, even to themselves? Such presumption.